Repair Windows 11 Start Menu with Stardock’s New Simple App

If you’re unhappy with the look of the revamped Windows 11 Start menu, there’s a fix coming. Not from Microsoft, however, but from Stardock’s new Start11 app.

This isn’t the first time Stardock has come to the rescue. The studio makes a living improving the look of Microsoft’s operating systems with tools like Groupy and Fences. Start8 gave Windows 8 a Start menu, and Start10 also updated Windows 10 with a Windows 7-themed Start menu. Now Stardock has set out to tweak Windows 11’s Start menu and search capabilities.

Our practice with the official Windows 11 beta shows how Microsoft has changed not only how the Start menu looks, but where it is. Currently, there is a utility matrix of icons in the Windows 11 Start menu, which stays fixed in the center of your screen. It’s very different from the traditional Start menu design.

Start11 fixes this problem with larger, brighter icons and the ability to drag the Windows 11 Start menu to the left corner. You can also add submenus, choose the background color, and manually select the favorite apps you want to see in the foreground. Stardock promised future improvements to the search box, including faster, more accurate results and the ability to perform simple math problems in the search box itself.

Start11 can also be used to modify the Windows 11 taskbar.

Stardock’s Start11 utility is cheap, but it’s not free: $ 4.99 for the Start11 betaRemove non-produced link, without any indication if this will be the final price. (Stardock also promises a Start11 for Business plan, with volume discounts.) And if you already own Start8 or Start10, Stardock may offer you the option to upgrade with a discount. You will only have to click on the link at the bottom of the download page to ask the developer if you are eligible.

Finally, a word of warning: Windows 11 is still in the development phase, so Microsoft could simply take inspiration from Start11 and integrate all or part of its ideas into the operating system, for free. If you don’t support the look of Windows 11 at present, however, Stardock offers an alternative. And if Microsoft doesn’t make significant changes to its next-gen Start menu, Start11 will be ready to help, just like Start10 and Start8 before it.